Tag: Venom

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The Venom Symbiote made its first appearance in Marvel Heroes Secret Wars #8 (May 1984). Spider-Man accidentally released the parasitic Klyntar following a scuffle on Battleworld. Spidey thought he was simply generating a new suit after his was shredded in the fight.

Venom #6

When Spidey finally realized the slick black and white suit was actually an alien organism, he rejected it. However, during the time the two were bonded, the Symbiote learned Peter Parker’s genetic code. Now Venom has the ability to grant any wearer Spider-Man’s abilities.

Since Peter Parker, there have been many notable wearers of the Black Suit. Eddie Brock is the most notorious. It was Brock’s time in the Symbiote that solidly established Venom as Peter Parker’s worst nightmare.

A Fresh Take On An Old Villain

In Venom #1, writer Mike Costa introduced a new perspective on the sentient alien goo. Taking us inside the Symbiote’s consciousness, Costa raises some interesting questions about a character we all thought we knew.

What if Venom is merely an amplification of the wearer’s Id? What if the Klyntar has less control over its actions than it appears, and the host is subconsciously in control the whole time?

By the time we roll around to Venom #6, it’s evident that the current host is bad news. Lee Price is a horrible person. He is a disabled military veteran with a grudge. His experience as an Army Ranger has made him mentally hard and his disability has made him bitter.

Lee dominates the suit to the point of abuse. For the first time, the suit appears unable to overcome the will of its host.

Now, with the FBI chasing it down, Venom crosses paths with The Amazing Spider-Man. In a bizarre turn of events, the leader of the Bureau’s Anti-Symbiote Task Force is none other than…Eddie Brock.

As far as anti-heroes go, it’s to find a list that doesn’t contain Venom. But over the years, the character has experienced drastic changes. He’s gone from a main-stay Spider-Man villain to an anti-hero to a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy.

Still, a constant in all of these stories is a focus on the relationship between the Venom symbiote and its host. And Marvel’s newest series to focus on the character gets him back to his more villainous roots.

Written by Mike Costa and drawn by Gerardo Sandoval, Venom #1 drops us into a Marvel Universe bereft of a proper Venom, with a hostless symbiote stalking the streets of New York.

The Villain Emerges

Enter Lee Price, a former Army Ranger with a distant attitude looking to make ends meet. Lee is standoffish at best and a mildl sociopath at worst. But mostly he’s got a lot of self-determination. So, when a simple security job (set up by Mac Gargan, himself a former Venom host) is interrupted by a rampaging symbiote, Lee quickly dominates the alien life form. The result–he’s quickly becoming the new, complete Venom.

From the outset, Venom #1 focuses on the strange dynamic between Lee and the symbiote. You’d expect that the strange alien biomass that adheres to human skin would be the bad-guy here. However, by the end of the issue it appears Lee is the one bringing out the evil in Venom.

It is a fascinating reversal. And it makes for a good twist after the more recent runs of Venom where he was a full-blown galactic hero.

Whether or not there will be a resurgence of Venom as a straight up villain remains to be seen. But with new characters and new twists on the familiar, Venom #1 is a good addition to the current Marvel Now lineup.

Hope you all are having a great new year so far! With so many amazing product reviews to choose from last month, it was nearly impossible to narrow the field down for this month’s picks. However, we’ve sifted through the hundreds and hundreds of great reviews and hand picked three of our favorites as part of our monthly Product Review Contest. Below, you’ll see who won from January’s Product Reviews. $25 TFAW gift certificates are on the way to the folks who posted them.

For those of us who’ve been asleep for the past 7 years, The Goon: Chinatown is awesome. You finally get a back story on Goon!! Fantastic & powerful. For your best deal though, buy only from TFAW!!! Nobody beats their service, products or prices! Thanks TFAW Staff, and Happy New Year.

Our second winner is Christopher from Pasadena, CA. He had this to say about the Sandman Overture #1:

Been a while since I’ve read Sandman, but with this new series it seems like it’s been only a moment. This story is what I expected from Mr. Gaiman but somehow also new in ways I didn’t expect. The artwork is simply amazing and I would have expected the combination of art and prose to be included in books costing much more! All around it’s a superb effort and I’m definitely looking forward to the next offering!

Last but not least, Joe from East Boulder, CO wrote a review for the for Gentle Giant’s Venom Mini-bust that we had to share:

The detail is incredible, the pose is great. It’s hard for me to say whether it’s bigger than I expected it would be. It is quite large (about the height of a Nalgene bottle). Has great weight. Just an awesome piece for the price.

If you liked the look of the regular Venom mini-bust, you will love the Zombie Venom Mini-bust currently available for pre-order!

Thanks so much to everyone who wrote reviews last month. You’re helping people decide what to get (or what to avoid) next.

Remember, you don’t have to write a novel to win. Product reviews can be short and sweet, or highly detailed — as long as they help other customers, that’s what we’re looking for. So submit your reviews and help your fellow collectors sort out the “HOT” from the “NOT”! Who knows, you may be one of next month’s winners.

HOW TO SUBMIT A PRODUCT REVIEW:
It’s simple! Just visit any product page and look for this:

Click on it and our product review form will appear in a popup. Just fill out the pertinent information and submit your review, and you’re done! We’ll take a look at your review and get it up on the product page soon thereafter!

There’s also a really easy way for you to call up everything you’ve ever ordered from us and review it. Simply log in to your account and go into the Order History Section. Next to each item, you’ll see a “Review it!” link.

Great Odin’s Raven! With so many amazing product reviews to choose from last month, it was nearly impossible to narrow the field down for this month’s picks. However, we’ve sifted through the hundreds and hundreds of great reviews and hand picked three of our favorites as part of our monthly Product Review Contest. Below, you’ll see who won from December’s Product Reviews. $25 TFAW gift certificates are on the way to the folks who posted them.

Jeff from Charleston, WV stopped by with his five star review of Dark Horse Comics’s The Star Wars #2 :

I’ve always wanted to see this attempted, to see it so fully realized is great. Interesting to see so many earlier characters and situations from the movies and their original place in Lucas’ earlier version. It really makes you realize how Episodes I-III are more like Lucas’ original vision of the saga.

Great detail on this statue sculpted by Erick Sosa based on the good old Mcfarlane Venom I grew up on. This isn’t the skinny Topher Grace Venom that today’s silly kids know from the movie. Sosa’s sculpt is a little bit over the top in the muscle department, looking like a bodybuilder all jacked up on juice; of course, old Eddie Brock was hitting the weights rather hard after he lost his job due to web head, so I think it fits perfectly. Five stars for the statue and five stars for the great packing job and speedy delivery from TFAW. I used to frequent the Beaverton store about 25 years ago back when it was Pegasus Comics and Pat ran the show. Unfortunately, I had to move to California. I had such fond memories of the place that I visited it a couple of years ago in a road trip. Double thumbs up!

It is no accident that this book rocketed to number 1 on the New York Times best seller list. Both imaginative and colorful, it deals with the man dedicated to seeing the Beatles become bigger than Elvis — Brian Epstein. The author of this book will be bringing this story to the cinema soon and I am sure his efforts have helped Brian Epstein secure a well deserved place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Thanks so much to everyone who wrote reviews last month. You’re helping people decide what to get (or what to avoid) next.

Remember, you don’t have to write a novel to win. Product reviews can be short and sweet, or highly detailed — as long as they help other customers, that’s what we’re looking for. So submit your reviews and help your fellow collectors sort out the “HOT” from the “NOT”! Who knows, you may be one of next month’s winners.

HOW TO SUBMIT A PRODUCT REVIEW:
It’s simple! Just visit any product page and look for this:

Click on it and our product review form will appear in a popup. Just fill out the pertinent information and submit your review, and you’re done! We’ll take a look at your review and get it up on the product page soon thereafter!

There’s also a really easy way for you to call up everything you’ve ever ordered from us and review it. Simply log in to your account and go into the Order History Section. Next to each item, you’ll see a “Review it!” link.